[cjfoster72]

How are everyone's hives doing as we are trying to roll out of Winter? I'm ecstatic that I still have all four of mine alive and well...come on Spring!!!

 

[GLOCK]

I have 17 I checked TUES. it was in the high 50s the last 2 days have been single digits so I may lose some more{lost 8 this winter so far} I won't say I am out of the water for a couple more weeks but its coming.

 

[senilking]

Both of mine are good. One is overflowing their single deep into the added medium. The other is just getting started. Can't complain, just need some more pollen for them to bring in now.

 

[NewJoe]

checked all seven this past Sunday. All alive and raising new brood. They all had some capped stores left except for one. I gave that one a frame of honey that I stole from one that had the bottom deep almost packed with capped honey.

 

[Deepsouth]

I have about 40 coming out of winter. I only lost one. Our first flow has already started in Louisiana which is the blackberry.
Swarms has also started. I caught my first swarm last week.
Most of my hives came out of winter very strong and working on filling up the first supers that I put on a week ago with Blackberry and Clover nectar.

 

[Huntingstoneboy]

12 of 16 as of two days ago...but it appears winter has returned. Won't count the proverbial chickens for a couple more weeks. First winter with bees, and a couple were small going into winter...wasn't sure of the threshold, but live and learn. Next year i will make a few changes, but am getting pretty excited for spring!

 

[cdevier]

Started winter with 12 hives -yesterday, I found four hives had starved. All 12 had 10 pounds of sugar in a 2 inch shim. The 4 hives had plenty of bees clustered in top frames right below the sugar. I guess it was so cold over the last month that the bees could not move.
Charlie

 

[philip.devos]

Yesterday, temp in 60's, had one out of 3, but it last night the wind came up, 40-50 mph and temperature in the teens, so it ain't over til it's over.

 

[WBVC]

Our weather remains very variable but hope that ongoing days below freezing are past. Local folks say we have another couple of weeks left for finger crossing. So far all my hives s till have bees. Some ate their sugar, some ate very little. One, with a fair number of bees up top ,had poop smears on top of the sugar..all other sugar was white.

 

[HunnyMunny]

Lost two out of three. One was borderline going into the winter, the other started building up brood in January and dispersed so many bees they froze. I'm hoping the third hive makes it through all these ups and downs we've had with the weather (yesterday afternoon it was 72 and 12 hours later it was 22 here!).

 

[sbin]

First year wiyh two hive both made it through the worst of winter.
They still have capped honey, sugar and some pollen sub added a few days ago.
Hope to come out strong and make a split and nuc.

 

[mike martel]

lost my one and only hive. looked good in jan. died late feb. going to try to find out why
getting 2 packages early april. need to learn more.

 

[nvstickbow]

My one hive has made it through. I wasn't sure going into winter with only one deep full of honey. Went in this morning to see if they made it and was pleasantly surprised to find frame after frame of dense brood and lots of bees left carrying pollen from I don't know where. They still have about three full frames worth of honey and seemed to be adding to it already. I put a second deep on the hive for them and am hoping to be able to harvest honey this year.

 

[rwurster]

-1 big single to starvation, have another hive in bad shape with no stores but feeding. All the rest of the hives have 30 - 80 pounds of honey remaining in them.

 

[beepro]

Going into late winter with 3 very small hives (less than 2.5 frames of bees) to lost 2 queens at early Spring time. Then combined 3 very small hives into one. Bought a new queen to make a split 3 days ago. Split the strong hive again from the queen cell (still an egg in it) of the newly bought queen to make another hive. 2 steps backward and 3 steps forward! It's going to be a fun year for me, already.

 

[Daniel Y]

At my peak this winter I was up to 23 hives. 12 full size 11 nucs. one of the nucs was lost due to possible robbing late last month. of the remaining nucs two are struggling again possibly due to robbing. the rest are ahead of schedule and two have already been expanded to 10 frame equipment.

Of the full size hives two are struggling. one was a weak late season swarm that I rescued in January. The second is one of mine from last year and has been reduced to 5 frame equipment. The remainder are anywhere from building and 5 to 7 fraems of brood all the way to two that are already a deep and 3 mediums tall and as much as 14 frames of brood at the last inspection. I was watching Michael's sustainable queen rearing video a couple of days ago and in it he comments about finding 15 frames of brood in a colony after two rounds of queen rearing. He directly asks the question if anyone has ever seen 15 frames of brood in one of their hives. I suspect I would be able to answer that question with a yes if I went out and inspected them again. I am doing weekly inspections now and on the watch for swarm cells.

I am starting my third season and so far that one lost nuc has been the only hive I have lost.

 

[Bmango]

Checked a few days ago when in the 70s. Lots of stores, a frame of new brood, bees active and bringing in pollen. Then temp dropped. Put a blanket on. Cross my fingers and hope.

 

[BMAC]

I walked down by the pond and looked at my one. I didnt open them up just looked at the entrance and there were bees walking around at the entrance so they are still alive.

 

[37 V8]

Flew home last week to see my restored truck at a car show in Detroit. I came in a day early so I could check on bees in two yards. I knew I was in trouble when I parked, and opened the door on my 4wd pickup into about 3" of snow. Snow was over my knees when I stepped out. Took an hour to get the truck unstuck... I was 200 yards from the first group of hives, and I couldn't get to any of them. It's gonna have to melt lots more snow until I can get to check on these hives. This is in SE Michigan. I can't imagine the snow amounts where it really snows

 

[treetrunk]

How are everyone's hives doing as we are trying to roll out of Winter? I'm ecstatic that I still have all four of mine alive and well...come on Spring!!!

2 out of five left.... 1 lang with 3 meds packed full of brood pollen and honey. Drones everywhere along with queen cups throughout. 1 top bar loaded ready to swarm. found a nice big fat queen cell a week or so from hatching then the comb broke off the bar and it got smashed (I guess I might have inadvertently prevented the in suing swarm). No commercial queens available around here in the near future due to the drought so it looks like walk away splits in a couple of weeks.... I do plan on extracting 3 medium supers next weekend so my honey needs are good for the year...